Gene Engineer
Gene Engineer is learning based skill that allows you to combine one pet with another to make a stronger ally. Gene engineering requires a gene machine, which can be acquired in Port Kapul through the Ambitious Scientist quest. Using the Gene Machine Two pets are required in order to use the gene machine. # Use the Tool command on the gene machine. # Select your first pet; this pet will be the recipient of the second pet's genes. # Select the second pet; a list of body parts and skills that can be added to the first pet will be provided. Once the pets have been combined, a character sheet for the augmented pet will appear. This can be used instead of paying the informer 10,000 gold. Note that higher level creatures cannot be combined until your skill raises. You cannot perform any gene engineering upon a creature unless its level is less than or equal to your gene engineering skill level plus five. For example, you can perform gene engineering on a Tyrannosaurus -- a level 30 creature -- when your gene engineering skill is 25. For easy training, take your gene machine and take it to the slave market owner in Derphy and keep buying and combining cheap slaves. Effects of Gene Engineering Skills New skills may be learned by the augmented pet. For example, by combining the dog you may receive at the beginning of the game with a little girl purchased in Derphy, the dog may learn Detection, Performer, Investing, Tactics, or Two Hand. Tactics is very valuable for a dog, since it increases the dog's melee damage. Experience Some of the experience of the previous pet will transfer to the augmented pet. If the donor's level is greater than the recipient's level, the recipient's level will become ((donor's level) + (recipient's level) + 1)/2, rounded up if the result is a fraction. The augmented pet's attributes will increase when gaining levels, depending on genes added. Fighter-types increase physical skills, casters increase magical attributes, and so on. As an addendum, pets of differing levels can transfer stat growth to a limited extent. For example, combining a higher level Wizard of Elea into a Yerles Machine Infantry will result in the latter gaining upgraded spirit/mental stats as well as the normal skill transfer. Body parts The augmented pet may gain body parts. This is very useful, as some good allies are lacking slots. Gene recipient however can't get more body parts of the type than a donor has. Note that having too many body parts will result in "body is complicated" feat, which decreases speed by 5% for each body part over 13. Standard number of body parts for human pets is 13. Note that body part received varies not just with donor, but with recipient too. (See table below, especially Public Performer and Silver Cat.) Some reference for body part gene donors (help to expand): * Head: hound, minotaur, Golden Knight, Blade, slime, dog, gold bell, bat, floating eye * Neck: dog, cat, asura, drake, cerberus, fairy, rabbit, skeleton warrior, living armor, lightning hound, beetle * Back: dog, cat, hound, rabbit, master yeek, Skeleton Berserker, , , centipede, snail * Body: horse, dog * Hands: black cat, stalker, Asura, Cyclops, demon, , Minotaur King, , Cure Fairy (god pet), Defender (god pet), hedgehog, Golden Knight (god pet), puppet * Ring: knight, centipede, goblin, golem; monsters of Yith race carry ring gene and have 4 ring slots, minotaur, fire crab, demon, yeek, tarantula (2 rings), ice drake, harpy (unless already 2 ring slots), red baptist, spider, Cultist of Fire (2) * Arm: king, rat, Golden Knight, Queen, Cute Fairy (god pet), blade, kobold * Waist: pawn, rat, King, Blade, lizard man, kobold, skeleton warrior, fairy * Legs: dog, cat, horse - all up to 2 pairs. , hound (includes lightning hound), Golden Knight,, goblin, Carbuncle, harpy Despite what one would expect, body parts donated are based on both the donor and recipient. For example (given all unaugmented donors and recipients), when a brown bear has a gold bell merged into it, the bear gains a head. When the brown bear has a blade merged into it, the bear gains a body. Conversely, when a rat has a gold bell merged into it, the rat gains a body. When the rat has a blade merged into it, the rat gains a head. This is counter-intuitive. If one is looking for a specific body part and does not have a large supply of domination magic, it is easiest to look for a creature which cannot donate anything else. For example, a bat only has three slots: Head, Shoot, and Ammo, therefore it cannot donate anything other than Head. Creatures like this are (help to expand): * Spider: donates up to 2 ring slots * Hermit Crab: donates up to 1 leg slot * Flying Frog: never donates * Beetle: donates up to 1 neck slot * Snail: donates up to 1 back slot * Bat: donates up to 1 head slot * Floating Eye: donates up to 1 head slot 4-legged animals will first give legs up to 2 pairs, which may be undesirable because of speed penalty. (This is not true of the carbuncle, perhaps others?) Human pets without any additional body parts will never give body parts to the recipient. Note that augmented pet's offspring will be of the normal type. Humans can give a 3rd "Leg" slot to these who have gained a second one through a horse, dog.. etc., but they cannot give a second one. (Could not duplicate this with a rat given a second leg by a carbuncle and an unaugmented little girl. How would a human get a 3rd leg? This contradicts the idea that the donor cannot donate more of a body part than they have.) Mutant genes There are NPCs of mutant race in the game; they possess the same "mutant" feat a mutant player would. An obvious example is NPC of the same name (mutant). Mutants grow new (random) body parts when they level up, and as long as a mutant has more slots of a type than a recipient, it is able to pass the slot gene. Mutants don't grow new bodies and ranged slots; pretty much anything else seems to be possible (multiple necks for example). Mutants aren't the fastest breeders around so you'd probably want to get the "usual" item slots some other way. Mutants are low-level monsters so you can easily level them up by adding genes from pets bought at slave market. Table of Donors Please help expand! Note that depending on donor OR recipient, the body part received can change. Note: I may have already used gold bell as a recipient once or twice before I began recording test results. Therefore it's possible that enteries are incomplete for gold bell being recipient. Trained skill You may learn Gene Engineer from the trainers in Port Kapul and Palmia. Races *None Classes *None Wishing *skillgene engineer may increase Gene Engineer by 1 level and train it's potential, but may raise Greater Evasion instead. *gene m will create a gene machine; this will only work in wizard mode. Category:Skills